HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
I don’t know about you, but for me, this past year felt as though it zipped by. Even my youngest thinks so, although my eldest…not so much. 
I guess not having the luxury of sleeping through the night in almost nine months would skew anyone’s perception.

When my children were young, I’d write a little note to my children each night to share something cute they’d done or said, or to tell of some milestone they’d reached, or to journal the special way we’d spent the day. I pasted these notes into scrapbooks with photos and gave them to each of my children on their twelfth birthday.

I believe that the exercise helped me to treasure each day, even when operating on only a few snatched hours of sleep. Through the years since, I’ve journaled off and on. It helps me gain perspective. 

With the feeling that the years are racing away, I think it’s time to resume the habit—a new year’s resolution of sorts.

Your Turn: What about you? Have you made any new year’s resolutions? Do you journal? How has it impacted you?

11 Comments

  • Happy New Year, Sandra! Love your scrapbook idea. I wonder if my dog would appreciate it? LOL.

    I’ve traded resolutions for words…you know, you take one single word and make it count for the whole year? My word for 2012 is Listen. Seems such a subtle little word, doesn’t it — not life-changing by any means…on the surface. But I intend to listen in so many different ways. Like to God’s prompting in my life. And listening for what’s behind the tirade of difficult people. And listening to my body more. And my heart. And even ol’ Simba’s yodels. And definitely to what others say about my writing so I can learn and grow.

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  • Thanks Loree, I love waking up to your wonderful greetings 🙂

    Kav, you always make me laugh. I’m sure Simba would appreciate being immortalized in a scrapbook. I can picture the published coffee book version now! I LOVE your word idea. And wow, Listen is a life-changing one. You’ve given me much food for thought. Thank you.

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  • Sandra, what a beautiful idea! I’ve been a memory keeper for years, but never wrote notes on a daily basis. I’m sure it helped you focus on the positive amidst the chaos.

    I don’t make resolutions but choose one word to focus on for 2012. My word is faith. I did prayer journaling, but slacked off. I’ve picked it back up. Like what you did for your children, the prayer journaling helps me to find the joy in Jesus midst the chaos.

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  • The word resolution is really neat, Sandra. I just heard about it last year — I think at Seekerville. I tried to find the link to it, but ran out of time. Anyway — the idea is to prayerfully select a word that you want to concentrate on in the coming year. Then you look up scriptures about it — create your own little Godly arsenal, or pick one theme scripture for the year. Anyway — instead of making a long list of resolutions that will likely be broken within the first month, you concentrate on utlizing your word in every aspect of your life. It’s amazing how doing that can then impact everything (including those resolutions you would have broken.) Hope that makes sense. I’ll try to find the official link to it later on and send it to you.

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  • What a great momento for your kids to treasure. You are brilliant!

    I don’t make resolutions; I set goals. To lose five pounds; to laugh more and pray more; to not go nuts marketing my book when it comes out in April.

    BTW, I am enjoying Deep Cover on my Nook! Thanks for writing it.

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  • Yes, Jackie, my pup keeps me committed to walking! The moment I reach for the phone in the morning to call my neighbor who walks with us, my pup is raring to go. If by chance my neighbor can’t walk and I decide not to go out right away, my dog gives me no peace!

    Kav, thanks so much for the link!

    Jen, I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying Deep Cover. 🙂

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Great to "see" you here today! I look forward to reading your comment.